


Manpreet

by QueenKordeilia



Category: Waaris (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Male!Manpreet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-07 12:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21457708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKordeilia/pseuds/QueenKordeilia
Summary: What if Manu and Preet really were two separate people? How different would the story of the Pawaniyas and the Bajwas be?





	1. Chapter 1

"Gunjan Didi, where—" Manpreet Hundal, more commonly known as Preet, stopped short when she walked into Gunjan Pawaniya's room to see said woman wrestling with her younger brother. 'Umm, okay...' she thought as she cleared her throat, subconsciously wringing her hands together.

Manpreet Singh Pawaniya turned around with a start, giving Preet an awkward look before turning back to his sister. "Didi, come on, you have to get ready!"

"I'll kill that Aman Pahuja!" Gunjan slurred, attempting to push Manu away but failing miserably. She was no match for her brother, an eighteen-year-old man who was at least four inches taller than her and was far stronger than her. "I'll never marry him! Never! I refuse! How dare he—"

Manu helplessly turned back to Preet, tipping his head as his eyes conveyed a silent question. "Auntie Ji is looking for you both. She sent me here to get Gunjan Didi."

Things only seemed to get worse as Gunjan fell limp in her brother's arms before collapsing on her bed. Without having to be asked, Preet set about putting the covers over the semi-conscious woman as the Shah of the Pawaniyas released a long-suffering sigh.

'What do I do?' he asked himself as he began to pace the room. He shook his head.

"Shah Ji?"

Without turning around to face his companion, Manu shook his head before saying, "Mummy will kill us if she sees us like this. I can't take Didi outside in this condition... It will be an insult to our family..."

As Manu carried on muttering, Preet's gaze fell on one of the suits laid out on the bed. It was one of Gunjan's more modest suits, the more modern and, perhaps, revealing ones stowed away in the wardrobe. Casting a glance towards the stressed-out man in the room, she picked the red suit up and headed towards the bathroom.

"Preet?" Manu called out, catching on to the plan quite quickly. This was in no way the ideal solution to their problem but they were running out of time. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's the only way," Preet replied after exiting the bathroom, now clad in Gunjan's outfit. She left the room as Manu rushed to his sister's side.

"Didi, give me a call when you feel better," he said softly, "Okay?"

He got a grunt in response before he left the room, intending to catch up with Preet.

* * *

Manu guided Preet towards where Aman Pahuja was sitting. The petite girl visibly tensed before sitting down next to her not-fiance, subtly tugging her veil to ensure that it would stay over her head and conceal her face, her true identity.

As the Pahujas started talking to 'Gunjan' and the priest, Amba Pawaniya signalled her devrani, Raavi, to fetch her devar, Jagan, before looking to her other side. Her son was standing next to her, looking every bit the perfect and proud brother; his back straight, his head held high, and his hands folded behind his back. The likeness to his father was uncanny. It was almost enough to make her forget that her children had been late to the Roka. Almost.

"Where were you?" she asked, her voice betraying no emotion. "You're a lot later than expected. I had to stall the Pahujas."

"Mummy, you know very well that Didi isn't happy with this alliance," Manu answered smoothly, his eyes never once leaving the shrouded figure sitting in his sister's place. "It was a challenge getting her over here. Underneath that veil is a tear stricken face."

"Where's Preet?" the Mother Shah Ji questioned. For lack of words, Manu merely shrugged. Amba shook her head before taking a coconut from Raavi and holding it out towards Aman. "Aman Puttar Ji, take this and place it into Gunjan's hands."

Aman took the coconut, looking at his mother when she began to speak. "Once the ritual is complete, you'll become bound to each other for seven births."

Preet shifted, her discomfort obvious only to Manu as she held her hands out in Aman's direction. 'What a mess! If I take this coconut, my Roka to Aman will happen!' Before Manu could intervene, Aman moved the coconut towards Preet's outstretched hands. In the blink of an eye, she involuntarily moved her hands away when she saw Aman release the coconut, bracing herself for the inevitable storm just before Rajveer Singh, the wedding planner, lunged forward and caught the coconut.

Unaware of who exactly had caught the coconut, Preet sat still as the coconut was gracefully placed into her hands. Manu watched on in silence, eyes flickering between Preet, Rajveer and Aman. Amba's fists clenched and unclenched as she glared at Rajveer with wide eyes whereas Mr Pahuja looked unhappy.

"Good thing I caught it," Rajveer spoke up, his voice making Preet jump, "otherwise everything would've been ruined!"

"How could you touch the coconut?!" Amba demanded, looking like she was at her wit's end. "Do you even understand what you've done?"

"But Auntie—"

"Would you like some thandai?" Raavi offered, throwing Manu a wry smile as she did so. Manu nodded in thanks before beginning to calm his mother down.

* * *

Not long after the Roka was over, Manu stood by as the Holi party became a battleground for psychological warfare between the Pawaniyas and their longtime adversaries, the Bajwas. Jagan and Raavi made an embarrassment of themselves on the stage, dancing like two drunk fools, and Harjeet Bajwa openly mocked them, but Rajveer jumped onto the stage and began to handle the situation. Manu looked over at his mother to see her spilling thandai on the floor, right in front of Mohini's face, the look on her own face indicating that she was very proud of her actions.

'If you can't beat them, join them,' he thought to himself as he spotted the crazy local inspector.

Now dressed in her own clothes, Preet scurried towards Amba, a somewhat worried expression on her face. She frowned, halting when she spotted Manu handing the inspector some money while pointing at Rohan Bajwa. She raised her eyebrow, about to approach the young Shah when Rajveer blocked her path.

She looked up in annoyance when Rajveer blocked her once more when she attempted to sidestep around him. "Where are you going? You look stressed. Is there a problem?" She rolled her eyes, making no effort to hide how unimpressed she was by his lame pick up lines. He continued to speak, none the wiser. "I'm Raj. What's your name?"

Preet opened her mouth, finally about to reply when Balam Pichkari began to play. Rajveer grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stage, spinning around when she shrugged him off.

"What on earth do you want?" she muttered, her eyes once again trained on Manu, the inspector and Rohan.

"A dance," he simply responded, holding his hand out to her. She eyed it for a moment before pushing past him and hopping onto the stage. He joined her for a dance.

Following the dance, an extremely drunk Rohan jumped onto the stage saying, "Now, watch the real hero's entry!" He proceeded to fall about the stage, drawing an amused look from Preet and a horrified one from Rajveer.

Manu, who was standing next to his mother, shared a smirk with her. Harjeet stood by, shaking with anger, whereas Mohini tried to calm him down, glaring at Manu when he winked at her. Leaving Rajveer where he was, Preet walked away and joined Amba...


	2. Chapter 2

"I should go to Preet and ask her to help me," Manu muttered to himself as he set about decorating the balcony. "I'm never going to get all of this done on my own and Sukkhi Veer Ji is too scared of Mummy to even think about helping..."

Hearing the rustle of leaves, the young Shah turned around to see Rajveer standing behind him. "How did you get here? I mean, what are you doing here?"

"I didn't catch my bus," the wayward wedding planner replied.

"Fine," Manu said, glancing at the basket of decorations before continuing, "help me put these up."

"Woah, hold on a second. This isn't my job anymore, remember?" Rajveer chanted as if he was trying to irritate him on purpose. Manu shot him a withering glare in response. "However, I can help you if you help me find my Soniyo."

Manu blinked, a look of amusement gracing his handsome face. "Your Soniyo?" he asked with a pointed look.

"Yes, my Soniyo!" Rajveer affirmed, dramatically clutching his heart and staring off into the dark sky. "It's strange. I've seen many beautiful girls, been with many gorgeous girls—"

"I bet you have."

"—but her simplicity is making me go mad. She's special, you know what I mean?"

Upon hearing the words 'simplicity' and 'special', Manu's eyes glazed over as he clearly went off into deep thought. Rajveer kept babbling on and on about his Soniyo, only realising that his companion was no longer listening after he received no response to his request.

He waved a hand in front of the younger man's face, raising his eyebrow when said man jumped.

"You must be mistaken," Manu spoke coolly, seemingly recovering quickly from whatever trance he'd been in. "There's no such girl in this pind."

"But I saw her," Rajveer piped up, looking like a petulant child who'd just been told that his favourite sweets were sold out. "I saw her with my own two eyes at the Holi party!"

"You must have been imagining her," Manu cut in rather dryly. "After all, almost everyone seemed to be under the influence of bhaang that day."

Evidently unwilling to take no for an answer, Rajveer pulled a plain (cheap) anklet out of his pocket and dangled it in front of the Shah's face. After what seemed like a fleeting sense of recognition, Manu looked as if he was attempting to recall where he'd seen the anklet before.

"You must have a friend who'd know."

Looking away, Manu picked at the flowers on one of the flower chains he'd placed along the balcony ledge and said, "I don't have any friends. There was a friend but then he left. Then there was another friend but we drifted apart..."

"Did you ever try to find your friend?" Rajveer questioned, before hastily adding, "The one who left, I mean."

"No."

"Was he a Bajwa?"

Manu's head snapped towards Rajveer and he visibly winced from the whiplash. He pressed his lips together until they went paper white before saying, in a rather gruff voice, "Just finish decorating the balcony. I've got other things to do. Do the decorations well. It's a matter of Mummy's respect..."

Before Rajveer could speak any further, Manu left the balcony, leaving behind a visibly confused wedding planner.

* * *

"Preet, when did you get here?"

Preet looked up from the magazine that she was reading to see her aunt, Nimrit, poking her head around the kitchen door. "Not long ago," she replied, subtly closing the magazine and giving it a once-over. The front cover was full of mentions of the latest celebrity controversies and gossip, including the break up of a popular TV actress and her longtime boyfriend. She put it underneath the newspaper that was conveniently lying around on the coffee table before saying, "I got bored at home by myself."

"Nimrit, make us some tea!" Manjeet, Preet's uncle, ordered as he entered the house with his brother in law in tow.

"Ji," Nimrit replied quietly, disappearing back into the kitchen she hadn't even been able to step out of. Preet stayed in her seat, eyes flickering between the newspaper on the coffee table and her father and uncle. She and her father, Chetan, exchanged looks as the latter looked back at his brother in law and the two sat down.

"Preet, go inside," Chetan ordered without even looking at said girl.

Preet sighed inwardly in defeat, glancing one last time at the newspaper before saying, "Ji, Papa," and heading to the kitchen.

"What did you think of him?" Manjeet asked Chetan as he lounged back into his seat.

"He's..."

Chetan's voice was drowned out by the furious muttering going on in the direction Preet was walking in. She glanced back at the men who were having an animated discussion before pausing outside the kitchen door.

"Our reputation will be in tatters because of you!" Nimrit yelled, her voice ringing loud and clear despite the thick wooden door. "You know what happened to that Pawaniya girl, don't you?"

"Mummy, why are you bringing her up?" Preet's cousin, Ratan, asked irately. Her voice was much quieter than her mother's but sounded just as firm. "What's she got to do with me?"

"If you don't control your behaviour soon, you'll bring shame to our family like she did to hers. You know your father would kill you if he knew what you get up to!"

"I've told you so many times that it's not like that!"

"Don't lie to me!"

"I told you nothing's going on! And what about Preet? She hangs around boys, even the nephew of Charminder Shah Ji, and you don't say a thing to her!" Preet raised an eyebrow and looked back at Chetan and Manjeet who were still busy conversing.

"Preet talks to Tekbir Babu about work," Nimrit cut in, making Preet nod to herself. "You hang around boys for another reason entirely. Don't bother denying it. I _know_."

Ratan mumbled something and Preet moved away from the door as heavy footsteps approached it. Nimrit threw the door open, exiting the kitchen just as Preet casually entered it. The eighteen-year-old gave her cousin a curious look, only to be met with a scowl.

"This girl will ruin our reputation!" Nimrit complained as Preet nonchalantly drank from a brass cup of water. "Lo, Ji, let's not waste any more time. Let's start looking for boys right now."

"Jijaji and I already went to see one today," Manjeet replied calmly. "We think he'll do."

"What?!" Ratan exclaimed, nervously wringing her hands. "Mummy!" Preet rolled her eyes as her cousin stormed out of the kitchen and headed for her parents.


	3. Chapter 3

Preet was visibly anxious when Rajveer approached her, an obvious look of excitement on his face. She observed her surroundings as if to see if anyone was watching her before glancing back up at him. He merely grinned in response.

"I'm so glad I ran into you again," he started, fixing her with an intense look that made her blush. "My name is Rajveer," he said smoothly, "but you can lovingly call me Raj."

'Lovingly?' she asked herself, coughing as her cheeks grew pinker.

She recovered just as he asked, "So, what's your name?"

"What if I don't want to tell you?" she questioned flirtatiously, her voice sounding calm and collected. He frowned, looking confused before resembling a puppy who'd just been kicked away.

"Why not?"

"I don't give my name to strangers," she answered smugly.

"I'll just have to stop being a stranger to you then," he resolved, his frown instantly turning into a grin. "So, which clan are you from?"

"You think I'll tell you that when I won't tell you my name?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "No chance"—she shook her head—"How about you tell me where you're from?"

"Gladly," he complied, tipping his head to the side. "I'm from Delhi."

Preet crossed her arms and gave him a once over. "You sure look the part but your accent doesn't sound very Hindi," she stated rather confidently. "In fact, you sound like you're from here."

"Guilty," he replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm Punjabi but I moved to Delhi quite young."

"From Gaguwal?" she inquired.

"Maybe," he replied coolly, a cocky look on his face. "So, are you from here?"

"Maybe," she mimicked teasingly.

"I can tell from your accent," he told her, giving her a pointed look. "Which clan are you from?"

"It's not any Gaguwal clan..."

"You live here, don't you?"

"Here?" she asked innocently, pointing at the Friends' Corner.

Raj rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about Gaguwal."

"What do you think?"

"What clan's territory do you live in?"

"Not the Bajwas', that's for sure," she commented, a look of disgust overcoming her face. Raj suddenly dropped his cheerful demeanour and opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off. "I've got to get going. See you later..."

Preet walked off into the woods, not turning around to catch the pain-stricken look on Raj's face.

* * *

Manu pulled himself up from the haystack, hastily bending over to grab his pants which were bunched up at his ankles and tug them all the way back up. Picking the needles of hay off his attire, he actively avoided looking at the naked girl who was lying down on the ground, silently watching him.

"Here," he said, taking out some money from his pocket and holding his hand out in her general direction.

"I'm still just charity to you?" she spoke, not making a single move to take the money out of his outstretched palm. She sounded subdued, her disappointment with Manu ringing loud and clear.

"You were never charity to me," he responded calmly, turning his head to look at her for a split second but then turning away again.

"You still offer me money," she pointed out, "for my services."

At this, he whipped around to face her, apparently no longer caring for her state of undress. He fixed her with a long-suffering glare, looking tiredly angry, and shoved the money back into his pocket.

"And I wish you would just take the money when offered," he told her, maintaining eye contact with her, "instead of stubbornly holding on to your false pride."

"My false pride is all I have left!" she retorted, grabbing her discarded kameez and holding it to her chest. "I gave you my honour and respect years ago. I'll never get it back."

"That was your idea, your choice!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists. "If you had just taken that money from me without being stubborn about having to earn it, we could have still been friends today!"

"Just like how your sister and your friend's brother stayed friends?" Manu looked away from her, blood rushing to cheeks and colouring them a faint red. "No. Friendship would never have been enough. And after knowing what it's like to be in your arms, it never will be enough."

Manu sighed, his features softening and his fists unclenching. "Tanu, we'll never know what could have happened if we'd done things differently but what I do know is that things will never go back to the way they were before we crossed the line."

"And this is where you tell me that it's better if we don't see each other again," she muttered, her voice thick as if she was on the verge of crying, as she proceeded to slowly put her clothes back on. "But to call you again if I reach the point of starvation."

"Tanu, please just accept my help without question next time. I—"

"Forget it," she muttered as she pulled her kameez over her head. "Every time you agree to meet me, I get my hopes up like a fool, thinking it's finally going to be different this time."

"And every time you call me, _I_ think it's going to be different," he said tiredly. "I think that I'll just give you the money without having to do what I always end up having to do. But you always force my hand and then don't even take the money."

She sighed in frustration and shook her head as she pulled her shalwar on. "But you know how it's going to end before you even come here. I _know_ you do. So why do you still agree to meet me? We both know the answer."

Manu scoffed as his face went red. "Just in case you actually need the money!" he blurted out, his face growing hotter by the second. "I don't take pleasure in all this. If I did, I wouldn't even bother bringing money!"

"Of course, Shah Ji," she said through gritted teeth. "You seem to need an excuse to meet me so we'll leave it at that." She threw her dupatta on and left the tiny shack, leaving an obviously embarrassed Shah behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Preet ended her phone call and walked into the shed, dropping her phone in shock when she saw a bloodied figure lying sprawled across the hay-covered ground. "Who are you?" she asked, her eyes widening as she got a good look at the man's face. "Rajveer Ji?!"

"Soniyo..." he rasped, barely lifting his head as he blindly reached out to her. "I told you to call me Raj."

'Is this why Tekbir Babu sent me here?' Preet asked herself as she opened her bag which contained bottles of ointment. "Who did this to you?"

Raj snorted, followed by coughing. "A friend," he managed to say, gasping for air.

"Okay, okay, take it easy," she said, grabbing the bottles and some conveniently placed cotton wool. "What kind of friend does this?" She knelt down next to him, shaking her head as she poured some ointment onto cotton wool and then proceeded to dab his wounds.

"A traitor," he simply replied, breaking into more coughs.

"Hold on"—she went to get some water from the corner of the shed—"did this friend beat you up himself?"

"No," he said, before drinking from the glass she placed against his lips. "Some hired goons did."

"How do you know he betrayed you then?" she implored, putting the glass down and picking the cotton wool up again. "You could be misunderstanding him. Did you even talk to him about this?" He stayed silent and looked away. She rolled her eyes.

"I don't need or want to talk to him," he commented in a bitter tone. He turned his gaze back to her. "By the way, what's your name? You didn't tell me the last time, or the time before that."

"What's the point?" she countered, "You can't even be bothered to talk to your friend and understand the situation. If we become friends and then there's a misunderstanding between us, you won't even look my way and then our friendship will be over."

Preet moved to stand up but Raj grabbed her dupatta and stopped her. He sat up and slowly rose to a stand just as she did.

"The traitor did me a favour," he stated. "If he hadn't done this to me, we wouldn't be together right now." She ripped her dupatta away from him.

"Is this friend Manu Shah Ji, by any chance?" She laughed after seeing the shocked expression on his face. "Don't look so shocked. I do some jobs for him sometimes, and I know that you are—or were—planning his sister's wedding. Is that what you two fell out over?"

"Well, kind of."

"Don't worry. He'll pay you for your time. He's a good person. He'd never do something untoward to someone who doesn't deserve it."

"But he did, didn't he?" Raj spoke up, his voice sounding eerily dead. "He killed the Bajwa's eldest son for no reason."

"Well, I wasn't settled here when it happened but—"

"Ahah!" he broke in, limping towards. "That's one thing I know about you now; you weren't born here!"

Preet smiled, before continuing, "but I heard about his friendship with the youngest Bajwa's son. They were really close. I'm sure their friendship was cursed as a result of their family enmity. It's sad, really. He's a good friend. I don't believe for a second that he murdered the Bajwa's son in cold blood."

"Wait, you're just friends, right?" Raj asked, standing up straighter. "If he turns out to be something more, I'll have an even bigger problem with him."

"Hold on, we're not even that close!" Preet exclaimed. "We're definitely just friends!"

"He's a damn fool. If you were my friend"—he reached out and pushed some of her hair out of her face—"I would have taken you by now."

She blushed, pushing him away when he leant in for a kiss. "Not so fast, city boy! You'll go back to Delhi in a few days and where will that leave me?"

* * *

"I won't agree to any of you psychos!" Mr Pahuja yelled, eyes darting crazily between Mohini and Jagan.

Manu entered the room, carrying a bottle of kerosene. "Gunjan Didi and Pammi will not burn today. Aman is the root of all problems, right? I'll douse him with kerosene and then light him on fire. Then it'll all be over, right?"

Collective gasps were heard coming from all directions of the room. Amba glared at her son, and even Gunjan looked displeased. Manu ignored them all.

"Where is he today?" he continued, scanning the room. "Is he hiding?" Mr Pahuja looked affronted. "No matter, I'll just send my men after him."

As Manu proceeded to dial a number on his phone, Mr Pahuja turned to Jagan. "What is this, Jagan Babu?" he demanded. "Will you and your nephew continue to do whatever you please? Even we have power, and we're not afraid to use it, but we didn't come here today to lose our son's life!"

"Pammi, do something! Do some drama!" Mohini hissed, prodding her frozen daughter into action. She cleared her throat and raised her voice. "Pammi, do you want to say something?"

Pammi began to cry and turned to Manu who was in the middle of a phone conversation. "Manu, don't do anything to Aman!" Manu raised an eyebrow and told the person on the other end to hold on before silently gesturing for Pammi to continue. She blundered before managing to speak, "I'm ready to back off"—she turned to Gunjan—"go on, Gunjan, live your life and marry Aman."

Gunjan gave Manu a desperately pleading look as Jagan spoke up. "Look, Mr Pahuja. The Lord makes pairing so there's no need to argue. Congratulations, Aman and Gunjan will get married."

"Pammi is talking nonsense," Harjeet interjected, an awkward smile on his face.

"Pammi truly loves Aman!" Mohini proclaimed. "She's backing off because she can't watch the man she loves die! That's the difference between us and the Pawaniyas! We don't make relations at gunpoint! Their Shah is ready to take Aman's life! That's the value of relations for them."

Manu yawned and then turned to his cousin. "Veer Ji, take Didi home."

"Manu! You can't do this!" Gunjan cried out as Sukkhi's eyes darted between his two cousins.

"Veer Ji!" Manu repeated, not even throwing a glance towards his sister. Sukkhi finally approached Gunjan and gently led her out of the room despite her protests.

After Gunjan's voice died down and finally disappeared, Manu ordered his men to stand down and then hung up. He turned to the Pahujas. "Aman was never in danger. I didn't even send my men after him."

"Well, would you look at that!" Jagan exclaimed jovially. "It's all settled now. Just tell us when you're bringing the baraat."

"Enough!" Mrs Pahuja screeched. "Aman won't marry Gunjan. No one can love him more than Pammi, and Aman will marry only her if the Bajwas agree. This is my final decision!"

"Of course we agree," Harjeet said before he and Mohini smirked at Jagan and Amba.

"Jagan Babu, I'm going to have to ask you and your family to leave," Mr Pahuja said. Jagan sighed and exchanged an exasperated look with Amba before they headed for the door. He stopped when he reached Manu.

"Great going," he muttered to his nephew, "You should've had Aman captured so we could force his father's hand..."

Amba shook her head at the exchange and walked out. Jagan followed her out of the room as Manu looked on. 'Sorry, Mummy, but I can't be so underhanded. I just can't.'

"Manu!" Mohini's shrill voice pulled Manu out of his thoughts. "Have some sweets."

Manu politely declined. "You don't understand," he told Mohini. "I wanted the Pahujas to reject us." The corners of her lips dropped as her smile almost vanished. "But that doesn't mean I'll let you have them either."


	5. Chapter 5

"My life is over," Gunjan complained to Babli who was trying to do her homework. "I don't want to be alive anymore!"

"Didi, what are you talking about?!" Manu demanded as he entered his sister's bedroom. "Do you think it's all a joke? You can't stay stuff like that!"

"What else do you want me to do?!" she snapped, standing up and walking right up to him. "You've ruined my life! You blackmailed Aman into agreeing to marry me!"

He shook his head and began, "Didi, I did no such thing. I didn't even look for him."

"Oh, don't lie!" she retorted. "You got Sukkhi to take me away so that you could fix my marriage behind my back. After all, you are Mummy's blind follower."

"Didi, how could you say that? I've always been on your side!"

"Oh really? Then why did you and Rajveer try to make me fall for Aman when you know that I don't want him?!"

"I thought that if you fell for Aman, everyone would be happy," he replied gently.

Gunjan repaid his consideration by yelling, "You can't just force people to fall in love! It doesn't work like that!"

Manu looked embarrassed and started, "I understand, Didi, but—"

She laughed humourlessly, cutting him off. "You don't understand love, and you never will. If you did, you wouldn't have thrown Tanu away like trash!"

His eyes widened at the low blow delivered by his sister. He looked at Babli who appeared to be immersed in her studies before looking back at his sister.

"Well, Didi, I was going to tell you that I called the wedding off and that Aman is marrying Pammi now," he stated calmly, "but I can now see that you neither appreciate nor deserve it."

Gunjan's mouth dropped open in shock and before she could even begin to apologise, her brother said, "Now I'll make sure you marry Aman _Jijaji_. I promise you, Didi."

"Manu, wait!" she called after him as he left her room. He didn't even turn to look back as he made his way downstairs.

* * *

"Marriage is going to suck," Ratan complained to Preet who was sitting on the former's bed with her, a rather bored expression on her face. "I'm going to be stuck with some inexperienced milksop. He's not going to know how to please me. I'm going to have to look for pleasure elsewhere..."

"Didi!" Preet yelled, a scandalised look on her face. "If you're talking about what I think you're talking about then you need to stop! You should remain faithful to your husband."

"Just because you've only ever been with the guy you hope to marry doesn't mean I'm going to—"

"Who? What guy?"

"Tekbir Sangwan, of course," Ratan replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Aren't you with him?"

"What do you mean _with_?" Preet asked carefully.

"Aren't you servicing him?"

"WHAT?!" Preet exclaimed, her face going red. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Doesn't he pay you?"

"Yes, for working!"

"And your work involves going to bed with him, right?"

"No, it doesn't!"

"But don't you meet up with him in warehouses?" Ratan questioned, sounding genuinely confused. "And you were with him last night. What else do a man and a woman do when they're alone together in a secluded place?"

"Don't you know that I help plan parties and stuff?"

"I do but I thought that was a cover. I thought your main job was sleeping with him. If not, then what were you doing last night?"

Preet's eyes widened as she thought, 'I can't let Didi know that I was with Raj. If she thinks I'm Tekbir Babu's whore, what will she think of my relationship with Raj?' She shook her head and cleared her throat before saying, "That's none of your business."

"You don't have to hide it," Ratan chided. "It's great! Fuffar Ji, Papa, and Mummy all think you're working on marrying Tekbir Babu one day." Preet blinked in surprise. "Do you love him?"

"Love?"

"Yeah," Ratan responded in a voice that screamed 'duh'. "Do you think about him all the time? Do you find yourself wishing he were there with you? Does the thought of him bring an instant smile to your face?"

Preet looked as if she was going to think about it when her cousin came out with, "When you're in bed, do you feel like cuddling up to him after you two—"

"Okay, that's enough, Didi!" she cut her off swiftly and firmly. She sighed. "God give me the strength to get through this madwoman's wedding."


	6. Chapter 6

"Can you go and fetch Ratan?" Nimrit asked Preet through gritted teeth, throwing the groom's mother an awkward smile as she did so.

"Ji," Preet replied, before heading towards the stairs. Lifting the skirt of her bridesmaid lehenga up, she rushed up the stairs and knocked on Ratan's door. She heard no answer but entered anyway.

"It's your cousin," Munni, one of Ratan's many maternal cousins, told the bride who was perched on the edge of her bed, back facing Preet. Ratan was decked up head to toe in her mother's old bridal wear.

Preet avoided looking at Ratan's five cousins, including Munni, and said to Ratan, "Didi, Mami is looking for you."

"I bet Maasi's stressing again!" one of the other girls, Kiran, said with a giggle.

"Typical," Munni commented.

"Bua really needs to calm down," another, Vaani, commented with a laugh.

Preet rolled her eyes and said, "The groom's side is here."

This was followed by five identical shrieks. Ratan's cousins ran past Preet, pushing each other to get out of the door first.

"I don't want to get married!" Ratan complained before Preet could even get a word out.

Preet sighed sympathetically but simply replied with: "You've got to."

"The wedding night is going to suck!"

"Surely marriage is more than—"

"Sex."

"—all that."

"I guess you're right though," Ratan relented. Preet sighed in relief, starting to smile only to frown when Ratan spoke again. "There is the money, jewellery and new dresses a bride gets from her in-laws!"

"That's not what I was going for," Preet clarified, "but yeah..."

"A rich bride, that is," Ratan added, making Preet groan. "I'm stuck with some guy who barely makes more than Papa!" She suddenly laughed.

"What?" Preet asked, thinly veiled annoyance seeping into her voice.

"You're such a fool, you know. You have the chance to make money off Tekbir Sangwan but you're too frigid!" Preet crossed her arms, evidently irritated. "I would totally sleep with him! It's better to be a rich man's whore than a poor man's wife! Who knows? He could even make you his mistress, if not his wife!"

"Stop your nonsense!" Preet snapped. Ratan looked taken aback. Preet sighed before sitting next to her cousin. "Look, Didi. You may not like the idea of marrying this man but you have little choice, especially when you've already come this far."

Ratan stood up, glaring down at Preet as she said, "you'll understand the day you're left without a choice!"

Just then, Ratan's cousin, Simrit, popped her head around the door. "Maasi's calling!"

"We're coming," Ratan said, shrugging Preet off of her when she touched her arm. "It's your turn next. After me, Papa, Mummy and Fuffar Ji will all turn their attention to getting you married."

Preet gulped as she watched the stubborn bride off.

'She's right,' she thought to herself. 'I'm the next in line.'

* * *

"Congratulations on your daughter's wedding," the Shah of the Sangwans told the bride's father. Manjeet beamed with pride, proceeding to introduce Charminder to his son in law's father and other relatives.

Preet sat by Ratan and the other girls, her gaze following her father as he made a beeline towards their Shah like there was no tomorrow.

"Shah Ji, I didn't expect to see you here," he greeted.

Charminder laughed good-naturedly, patting the poor man on the back. "I was on business and passed by here on the way home. I thought, why not? The bride is a girl from our clan, after all."

"Indeed, she is," Chetan agreed. "We all have to give our girls away in the end. I'm glad Ratan is marrying into a good family."

"Yes. If I had a daughter, I'd spare no expense to send her off into a good household. Alas, I've got no children."

"No matter. You've got Tekbir Babu!"

"That I do. When my brother was on his deathbed, he requested that I take care of Tekbir. I can rest easy knowing that my wife and I raised him to the best of our abilities."

"I'm sure you'll look for a good bride for him. He is the next Shah, after all." Charminder nodded. Chetan stole a glance at Preet who quickly averted her gaze before he could see her watching. "I've got a daughter myself. Preet. Now that her cousin is married, she ought to follow suit."

Preet hid her increasingly reddening face in her hands, turning away from Ratan and the direction her father and Shah were standing in. 'Papa, why?' she thought. 'Oh, it's just so embarrassing!'

Tekbir, Charminder's nephew, approached Preet and stood in front of her. "Congratulations!"

Preet's neck practically snapped as she rapidly looked up at him. "On what?!" she shrieked in a flustered tone.

"Umm, the wedding?"

Preet's eyes widened. 'Did he hear Papa proposition Shah Ji? Is he making fun of me?'

"Thank you, Tekbir Babu," Ratan replied, sounding anything but happy. Preet sighed in relief. Tekbir raised an eyebrow at her.

She cleared her throat and asked, "What are you doing here, Tekbir Babu?"

"Attending your cousin's wedding," he answered smoothly. "What are you doing here?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Attending my cousin's wedding."

"There you go," he said, giving her a pointed look, before heading towards his uncle. Preet sighed in exasperation when she heard Ratan's cousins whispering about her and Tekbir. She turned to look at them, only for them to burst into a fit of giggles.

"Silly girls, silly Papa, silly Tekbir," she muttered to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

"That Mohini idea is perfect," Raj praised Manu as he accepted a flower chain from him, "but I think we should concentrate on Pammi." He began to wind the chain around the pillar he was standing in front of, looking down at his friend as he said, "let's do to her what she did to Gunjan."

"No, Yaara," Manu replied immediately, shaking his head from where he was stood next to the stool Raj was standing on. "We're different to them. It's against my ethics to play with a girl's reputation like that. Besides, Pammi has no brain of her own. Mohini's the mastermind of this whole thing. Here, take this." He passed him a flower chain.

"That's enough, I don't feel like doing any work right now. You're a number one cheater!" Raj whined, throwing the chain at Manu. Manu raised an eyebrow, a questioning look on his face. "You said you'd make me meet my Soniyo but you still haven't! No, I refuse to work right now!" Raj turned his head away, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

Manu looked around before hitting Raj's leg. Raj looked down at him. "Arre, Yaara, we're standing in enemy territory and you're thinking about romance?"

"Look, I'll work right now because you're insisting but I won't start another task until you make me meet her! Understood?"

Manu smirked and handed the discarded chain back to Raj. "There you go. Get to work!" he ordered, smugly crossing his arms and turning away from Raj.

As Raj got back to decorating the pillar, Manu observed his surroundings. He did a double take when his eyes fell upon the lithe figure of Tanuja Bajwa standing a few feet away from him, looking straight back at him with her dark, dull eyes. She tugged her veil tighter around herself, tilting her head to ever so slightly to the side before slowly turning away.

As she walked off, away from the Bajwa haveli, Manu sprung into action. "Raj, you stay here okay? I'll be right back!"

Before Raj even had the chance to reply, Manu ran off in the very direction Tanu went mere seconds ago.

* * *

"Who's this now?" Mohini asked sceptically, narrowing her eyes at Preet but clearly directing the question at Raj.

"She's with me!" Raj answered.

"But that sardar ji was with you."

Raj didn't miss a beat and instantly said, "Well, there was a lot of work so I called... her..."

"Oh yeah?" Mohini asked, a calculating look on her face. "And what's _her_ name?"

Raj slowly turned to Preet, smiling smugly at her. "Go on," he prodded, "tell her your name. Why are you being all shy?"

'He thinks I'll tell him my name,' Preet thought to herself as she threw Raj a distasteful look. 'As if!'

After a few seconds of silence, Mohini questioned, "Is she mute?"

"No, she's shy," Raj supplied, starting to look a little worried. "She doesn't talk much."

Preet turned away from Mohini and hid a smile behind her hand. 'He got that right...'

"Her name is..."—Raj looked at the calendar behind Preet—"her name is Preeti... Preeti..." Preet looked back at the calendar in evident surprise.

"Your associates are strange..." Mohini commented amusedly. "One talks a lot and the other doesn't say anything at all." Raj just smiled awkwardly whereas Preet kept a straight face. "Anyway, watch out. I won't tolerate workers engaging in any kind of romance under my roof." Preet's eyes widened. "Just focus on work."

"Okay," Raj complied cheerily.

"Go!"

As Raj and Preet exited the room, Mohini made her way back to her own. Preet didn't even look Raj's way as she went to stand on the balcony that overlooked the ground floor of the mansion. Raj joined her.

"Manu didn't tell me that he was sending you!"

"Why did you have to smile back there?" she asked, her voice marred with ire. "That auntie thinks we're having an affair!"

Raj turned to face her, grinning so hard it looked like his face was going to split into two. "Really? I didn't know." He inched closer to her, eventually backing her into the column next to the balcony rails. "She's not wrong, though, is she?" Preet glared at him. "Not really."

Without warning, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him, sending him careening into the wall opposite her. "You are such a sleaze!" she exclaimed, the smirk on her face saying that she was more amused than offended.

"You will take my life one day," he said, still grinning.

She opened her mouth to deliver a no doubt cutting reply when she was interrupted by the ringtone of a mobile phone...


	8. Chapter 8

Amba sat on her swing, tapping her fingers on the armrest as she looked off into the distance somewhere. Jagan walked in through the front door, shoving his jeep keys into his pocket, stopping when he laid eyes on his sister in law.

"Arre, Parjai, what are you thinking about?" he asked, approaching her swing and standing in front of her.

"Manu," Amba responded, looking up at him. "He called me to tell me that he would break off Aman and Pammi's engagement but he wouldn't tell me where he was."

Jagan smirked and shook his head. "When was this call? A few minutes ago?"

"Yes," she replied, a surprised look on her face. "How do you know?"

"Because I saw him when I was driving back from the market today," he responded. "He was in disguise."

"Disguise?" Amba asked sceptically as she raised an eyebrow. She tipped her head to the side, keeping her eyes trained on Jagan as she asked, "What kind of disguise?"

"A Sikh one"—Jagan paused for effect—"I guess he wanted to blend in with the guys working at the Bajwas' place."

"What?!" Amba yelled, her bemused expression morphing into one of horror. "The Bajwas' place?!" He nodded, an amused expression on his face. She seemed not to notice, looking confused.

"But you said you saw him leaving the Bajwas' place around the time he called me..."

"So where is he now?" Jagan said, voicing the very question which was clearly plaguing his sister in law's mind.

Amba suddenly stood up, a dangerous glint in her eyes as she looked towards the door. She looked back at her brother in law and questioned him on the direction he saw his nephew walk off in. He gladly complied with her interrogation and even went as far as handing her his own jeep keys before she could even ask. Amba determinedly stomped toward the front door, ignoring the calls of Raavi who had just exited the kitchen.

Clearly, nothing was going to stop her.

* * *

Tanu looked up at Manu through teary eyes, shuddering as she said, "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Manu asked, gently wiping her tears away.

"I—" she started but ended up choking on her own tears. Manu immediately pulled her into a soothing embrace, patting her on the back as she continued to sob. Something seemed to hit him right then and he pulled away from her in a rather abrupt fashion.

"You're not"—his gaze flickered toward her stomach—"uhh..."

She opened her eyes, her sobs dying down in her throat as she followed his line of sight. "No!" she exclaimed, her cheeks burning at the very suggestion. She looked down, her eyes tearing up again.

Manu scratched his head, or rather turban, awkwardly as he said, "I'm sorry. I guess sometimes I wonder how nothing has _happened._"

"Me too," she sniffed.

"I mean, it's been two years."

"Three," she corrected, looking unimpressed even through her unshed tears. "You men always forget the details. Us women never forget."

"Is this why you came looking for me?" he implored, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation. "To talk about us, _again_?"

"Oh, so you're finally admitting that there is an 'us'?" she shot back, more irritation than sadness in her tone.

"That's not really the point," Manu argued feebly. "I followed you here because I thought you were in serious trouble."

"I am." Her chin wobbled. "The truth is, I..."

* * *

Amba arrived at Manu and Tanu's regular meet up spot, hopping off Jagan's jeep and creeping toward the tiny shack her son frequently used (unbeknownst to her) for his trysts with his childhood friend. She pressed herself flat against the outer wall of the shack right next to the entrance and peered into the room through the gap between the ajar door and its doorframe. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

Without further adieu, she barged into the room and tore her son away from his lover, effectively putting an end to their rather passionate kiss.

"Chi!" Amba shrieked as she twisted Manu's ear.

"Mummy!" Manu yelped.

"Please stop!" Tanu pleaded, visibly shaken by Amba's surprise appearance.

"Shut up, you dirty little prostitute! Don't think you can talk to me just because you've serviced my son!" Amba barked, reducing Tanu to tears in one fell swoop. "Run along to your next customer!"

"Mummy!" Manu shouted, finally getting (his ear) out of his mother's grasp. "Tanu isn't a prostitute! How could you even call her that?!"

"Why can't I?" Amba asked, sounding genuinely confused. "She sleeps with men for money, doesn't she? That makes her a prostitute."

"Your son is my first and last!" Tanu cried, wiping her tears away as they fell. "I've never been with anyone but him."

"Please don't cry, Tanu," Manu said softly, throwing a comforting arm her. He proceeded to pull her into his chest and rest his chin on top of her head. Amba's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, I see," she spoke dryly. "Vah vah, Manu! There I was, thinking of you as if you were still a child, but it looks like you're all grown up now! You've got your very own whore!"

"Mummy!" Manu warned, still holding Tanu close as he glared at his mother from over his lover's head.

"You're taking after your disobedient sisters, especially Simran," Amba commented before her gaze shifted to Tanu. "Is this whore pregnant, Manu?"

Tanu pulled away from Manu's chest. "No!" she exclaimed. "Why does everyone keep asking that!"

Manu looked down at her, confused. 'Everyone?' he mouthed.

Amba looked at Tanu in disdain before looking back at her son. "How long has this been going on?" she questioned, gesturing at the two of them.

"Since I was fifteen," Manu confessed. Tanu peered up at him in shock. He gave her a look of reassurance as if to tell her not to worry.

'Three years,' Amba thought. 'That's no typical affair. I have to end this before he decides he wants to marry her!'

"Manu, it's time we went home."


End file.
